I'll Sing For You
by idealskeptic
Summary: Rebellion means Annie Cresta could be widow when she's barely been a wife. When Finnick goes to fight in the Capitol and is reported killed, she'll fall apart. With help from unlikely people, she pulls herself together and fights for what she loves. She fights for Finnick with all the strength she can muster. Alternate universe. End of Mockingjay, pre-epilogue.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note: **I love _**The Hunger Games**_. I love how they ended. But couldn't Finnick have lived? Maybe? No? I understand. But this is fanfiction so consider this my hopefully believable explanation of how he might live. Alternate universe, alternate ending… what have you. Anyway, if you're like me and went back to read that part of _Mockingjay _three times to make sure you read it right, well, I hope you like this.

* * *

**I'LL SING FOR YOU**

* * *

There's something different about my room. There's something wrong. It's a small thing, compared to what went wrong when Finnick left to fight in the Capitol and Octavia, the green skinned girl from Katniss' prep team, was instructed to share a room with me. I can't think about Finnick or I'll break down. I like Octavia, though. I think she's as scared as I am most of the time. It's strange, being so similar to a girl from the Capitol. But she doesn't laugh or walk away when I got lost in my mind or cover my ears and close my eyes. She sits beside me quietly and leaves her hand on my shoulder until I get through it.

There's something different about my room.

I only came back to get the gloves I was assigned when I started working in the laundry here in District Thirteen. That's when I noticed something different.

Our beds, small and hard, are neatly made in their respective corners. The small dresser is in order and where it should be. The jeweled feather Katniss accidentally knocked off her Mockingjay suit and gave to Octavia sits on the dresser beside the piece of knotted rope Finnick gave me.

There's something different about my room.

I realize the television screen is gone on my final turn to look the room over.

"It's broken." Octavia is standing the doorway. "It broke while you were with your doctor so Dalton helped me report it. They came and took it. They said we'll get a new one before _Reflection Time_ tonight."

I blink and stare at her while I think this through. I remember Mags telling once that the longer the explanation someone gives you is, the more likely it is that it's a lie. For someone who talks less than I do, she's given me a very long explanation. I don't know why she'd lie to me and I hope she wouldn't, so I give her the benefit of the doubt and nod. "Oh. Alright. Well, I have to get to work."

She steps in front of me and stops me from leaving. "I forgot! I'm supposed to tell you that you don't have to work today. With all the soldiers gone, there isn't as much laundry."

She's lying. I'm sure of it now. I haven't been in District Thirteen long but I've been here long enough to know that if there isn't work to do in one place, it won't take them long to find something else for the workers there to do. I twist my fingers together to keep from giving myself away. "I should go find out where else I need to be then. Please move."

She steps aside and lets me go. Then she follows me to the stairwell. That's where she stops while I descend four floors to the laundry. It's fully staffed and everything is working. But there's something wrong. Something, or someone, is missing.

The shift manager, a older woman named Gilla, is talking to me but I don't hear any more than my name. I'm too busy trying to figure out what's missing. I walk away from Gilla and head toward my station. We work in teams of three in the laundry. My team is a District Twelve girl named Delly Cartwright who talks enough that I never have to say a word and a quiet, kind woman from District Twelve named Hazelle Hawthorne. Hazelle's son is on the same squadron as Finnick.

Delly is sitting on her stool but she doesn't greet me. Her eyes are glassy and red-rimmed.

Hazelle's stool is empty.

Hazelle's stool is never empty.

Delly and Gilla both shout my name as I turn on the spot and flee the room. Maybe they follow me, maybe they don't. All I know is that I have to get back to the compartments. I slam the doors open to the stairwell and ignore the person I knock down. I trip three times on the steps and pain vaguely registers in my knee and my wrist. I slam a second set of doors open and ignore the person I knock down. I bump two more people in the hallway, two people who try to stop me. I shove them to the ground when they won't let go. And I only stop when I reach the compartment Hazelle and her children share.

I don't knock on the door. I just push it open.

They're too focused on their television screen to notice me. The younger boy is holding his sister and the older boy is standing behind his mother with his arms wrapped around her neck.

I focus on the screen too.

It's a Capitol broadcast and eight words are printed on the screen.

_**KATNISS EVERDEEN IS DEAD … more details expected soon**_

Her picture is on the screen. And then the others flash. Peeta, Hazelle's son, some man I don't know, Finnick.

Finnick.

Finnick.

I wish the person who is screaming would stop so I can hear what the woman on the screen is saying. And then I realize I'm the one screaming.

Over my own screaming, a noise I don't know how to stop, I hear Hazelle tell Vick to take Posy out of the room. I feel Rory grab my arms and pin them at my sides. I don't know why he does that but I can't fight him. Or maybe I am fighting him. I hear a grunt of pain. I don't want to hurt him so I try to make my body go still. I wish he'd let me go.

"Annie, Annie," Hazelle says quickly, cupping my face in her hands. "Breathe, honey, breathe. Please try to calm down, Annie. Please don't hurt yourself any more."

My body goes limp all on its own and Rory lowers me to the floor. I pull myself away from him and collapse into her arms.

She holds me as I come apart.

* * *

My face feels funny when I wake up. I pretend I'm not awake while I try to figure out what happened, what I missed.

The beeping in the room says I'm in the hospital. The pillow under my head is papery and hard and it scratches against my skin. I touch my face and feel the slimy texture of medicine and small spots of bandages. How did I hurt my face? Why did I hurt my face?

I whimper when I remember the truth.

Finnick.

A warm hand covers mine and I open my eyes. Hazelle is sitting beside my bed, cradling her sleeping daughter in her arms. Through the tears that immediately fill my eyes I see that she's pale and her eyes are red. I can't help but scoot closer to her when she squeezes my hand.

"I'm sorry," I whisper. I hope she'll know I'm apologizing for breaking down in front of her children and for the loss of her son.

She shakes her head slowly. "Don't apologize, Annie. Not for what happened when you saw the screen. Do you want me to tell you what I know?"

I don't but I do.

"Haymitch was here a few minutes ago," she begins quietly so she won't disturb Posy. "He said that the rebels don't have verification that Squad 451 is dead. The Capitol report is that they were seen on a surveillance camera entering a building and not coming out before the building was bombed. Haymitch says there are enough tunnels below the city that they could have escaped. He's not believing anything until there's more proof.

"He said that Beetee told him that something called a holo, some type of a map, that every squad carries is still activated so someone on the squad is alive. We don't know who or where they are, but someone's alive."

I take a shaky breath and exhale it slowly, wishing my eyes didn't hurt more because of the salty tears escaping onto my cheeks. Her explanation was long but she was too honest to be lying. "You agree with Haymitch?" I murmur.

She nods. "I have to. I can't mourn my son until all hope is lost."

"Haymitch wouldn't lie to us," I agree. "Mags and Finnick always told me that if anything happened to them, I should trust him."

"When my husband died, it was Haymitch that told me when hope was lost. Then he held me while I mourned. He was there when Posy was born." She brushes a curl off her daughter's forehead and sighs. "When he tells me to let go, that's when I'll let go."

"I'm going to do that too," I say. "Or at least I'll try to do it."

She smiles sadly and squeezes my hand again. "I'll help you, if I can. If you think it would help, I'm sure you'd be allowed to stay with us."

I want so badly to stay with Hazelle. "I can't. I hurt Rory and I scared Posy."

"She wouldn't go to sleep until we came to check on you," she argues gently. "And you didn't hurt Rory. You scratched your own face, not his."

"I heard a grunt of pain," I protest.

"That was you, honey. He was trying to keep your hands away from your face and you twisted out of his grasp. You hit your hip on the dresser."

My hand flutters to my hip and I realize that it is very sore. "I can really stay with you?"

She nods. "I'll tell Haymitch next time I see him. You should rest now, honey. I should too. If my son and your husband come home, we've got to be strong for them, don't we?"

My fingers hand been locked around hers but I let it go lax so she can leave. She doesn't leave, though. She just settles back into her chair and closes her eyes.

* * *

When I wake up again Hazelle and Posy are gone but Rory has taken their place. I feel a little ashamed that children are looking after me now but I'm glad he's there.

"Hello, Annie," he says, shifting in his chair when he sees that I'm awake. "My mother went to speak to Haymitch and Mrs. Everdeen. I can get her if you like."

I shake my head. "Where are your sister and brother?"

"With Prim, I think. Don't worry about them. Are you hungry? The nurse brought a dinner tray for you. It doesn't look very good, but you're awfully skinny so I think you should eat."

I sit up and he puts the tray over my lap. He's right, it doesn't look very good. I don't want to eat it. My mind wanders and I imagine sitting Finnick sitting where Rory is. He would want me to eat. I pick up the fork and eat without tasting.

He nods when I finish and takes the tray away. "I don't know when you'll be allowed to come stay with us. Do you need anything before then? Maybe some rope?" He smiles at my reaction. "I'll get some rope. I'm sure Octavia will let me into your room to get what you have there."

"Will you get the knot of rope that's on the dresser too?" I ask quickly. "Please?"

He agrees and slips out when Haymitch pushes the door open.

I watch his face in fear, remembering what Hazelle and I decided about trusting him to tell us when to fall apart. I don't see anything there and I relax just a little as he takes the chair Rory left.

"It was Plutarch's idea," he begins, rubbing one hand roughly over his drawn, tired face. "It was his idea to remove the screen from your room and tell Octavia to lie. His intentions were good, I suppose, maybe. I wouldn't have let him do it if I'd known before he did it, though. I'm not going to lie to you, Annie, not unless you ask me to."

I wonder if he has any idea how much I appreciate that. I close my eyes and exhale slowly. "Did Finnick ask you to lie to me?"

He shakes his head and leans forward, elbows on his knees. "No, he didn't. He only asked me to take care of you while he's gone."

"Don't lie to me," I tell him. "Please don't lie to me."

He looks me in the eye and nods once. "Alright, I won't. Mags told me once that people underestimate you. She said you underestimate yourself. I'm not going to underestimate you and I'm going to help you be as strong as you can be."

"Do you think he's dead?" I know he's probably worried about all of them but I know he'll understand that I'm most worried about Finnick. "Do you think he's dead?"

He gives an almost imperceptible shrug of his shoulders. "You'd probably know better than me. I can guess, I can listen to Beetee and the commanders, I can hope. What you've got with him, it's something special. If he's gone, I think you'd know. Do you think you'd know?"

I swallow twice to clear the huge lump in my throat. "No, I don't think so. I'd know. I think."

"I think so too." He stands and stuffs his hands into his pockets. "I've got to get to a meeting in Command. Hazelle told me she wants you to stay with her? That's fine. Whenever the doctors let you go, you stay with her. It'll be good for you."

I try to smile but I fail.

Haymitch looks at me for a long minute before he leaves.

* * *

_Well? How was it? I hope you liked it and I promise that more will be posted soon!_


	2. Chapter 2

The doctor lets me leave the hospital before Lights Out that very night. He writes me a slip so I don't have to work, saying the noises and hustle and bustle of the laundry might not be good for me, and tells me to stay as calm and quiet as I can.

So I spend the next few days playing with Posy Hawthorne. Hazelle works short shifts in the laundry and spends some time with Katniss' mother. The boys are both helping to prepare soldiers and all classes are cancelled for the time being so I spend my time with Posy.

We draw pictures on paper provided by Haymitch with colored makeup pencils provided by Octavia. Something in Posy's pictures always ends up pink and something in my pictures always ends up as close to sea green as I can get it. She tells me what she remembers of stories District Twelve children heard and I tell her stories from District Four. We make up silly songs and put on hand-puppet shows for her mother and brothers when they come home for the night.

I feel lost when leaves to join the other little girls in making pictures to the children in the districts that are under rebel control.

"Come on, Annie," Hazelle says, squeezing my shoulder when I get lost somewhere else. "Haymitch said he and some of the others are having a meeting. We can go, if you want. Johanna and Beetee will be there, and Julie. The boys too."

I follow her because I don't want to be alone. I'm not sure I want to hear what's said in a meeting but I know I can always cover my ears and let myself drift away.

We don't go to Command. We go to a room down the hall from the main Command room, having met the boys on the way. Beetee's already there. Hazelle sits beside Nurse Everdeen and Vick sits on her lap. Rory maneuvers me to sit beside his mother and then he sits on the other side of me. Johanna rushes in a minute later. She still looks pale and shaky but she's in a soldier's uniform. Plutarch Heavensbee and Haymitch come in last. Plutarch looks satisfied and hopeful. Haymitch looks grim.

Hazelle wraps one arm around Vick and reaches to pull both me and Rory closer.

Plutarch starts to speak but Haymitch holds up his hand. Then he tells the story. "Snow has been captured. He's in rebel custody and the Capitol is mostly in rebel control. That's why Heavensbee's grinning like the cat that got the canary." He nods when Plutarch looks a little more somber. He looks at each of us individually before he continues. "We don't know a lot about Squad 451. What we do know is this; bombs exploded near the City Circle and Katniss and Peeta weren't close together but they were both injured in the fire from the bombs. They're in a hospital there, rebel controlled. I don't know details about their conditions.

"Hazelle, we don't know where Gale is right now. There are thousands of people moving around the center of the city and he could be anywhere. We'll find him.

"Annie, it's the same for Finnick. No one's been able to talk to Katniss or Peeta so we're going to have to try to do that and just plain look for him."

Somehow I'm able to stay present enough that I even hear Plutarch say that President Coin wants all surviving victors to the Capitol as soon as possible. He says that Nurse Everdeen and the Hawthornes should obviously come as well. It doesn't matter so much to me because the last place anyone saw Finnick was in the Capitol. The closer I can be to it, to him, the better.

We all go to our rooms mostly in silence and then meet in a hovercraft bay. Fulvia Cardew, a woman from the Capitol I don't like at all, rushes in just before the doors slide shut. She stops beside Plutarch and whispers a message to him.

I'm close enough to hear every word. I hear that Gale Hawthorne was shot twice trying to escape from Peacekeeper custody and is in the same hospital as Katniss and Peeta. I hear that Cressida, the propo producer assigned to the squad, has been located and she's reported what happened to the rest of the squad. First is a lot of information about people I don't know. And then Fulvia tells him what Cressida said about Finnick.

I see it as I hear it.

I see him on the ladder. I see the mutts I've never seen before and I see them attack him. I see him fall. I see Katniss drop the holo, something else I've never seen. I see it all. Almost all.

I don't see him die.

Haymitch said I'd know.

Plutarch sees me too late to stop Fulvia.

I clap my hands over my ears and sink to the floor.

I feel a pair of arms wrap around my body but it takes a long time for Hazelle to convince me to put my hands down and open my eyes. I bury my face in her shirt.

"What did she hear?" she demands, looking up at the Capitol people. "She heard something and I think we all need to hear it. Now."

She puts her hand over the ear I don't have pressed against her chest before I can and protects me from having to hear it all again. Without moving her hand, she gets to her feet and pulls me along with her. She walks me onto the hovercraft and guides me to a seat. Posy sits on her lap and Vick beside her. Rory sits beside me and pulls the seat buckle around my body.

* * *

We've been in the air for a little while when I unbuckle myself and walk across the hovercraft to an empty seat beside Haymitch. I sit when he nods at the seat. "You said I'd know," I say in a shaky voice. "You said I'd know if he's dead."

"Cressida witnessed it, Annie," he says, swallowing hard.

I shake my head and wipe the back of my hand across my face. "Do they have his body?"

He shakes his head and tells me it was blown up when Katniss detonated the holo.

"You don't have his body," I say firmly. "He's not dead until I see his body. Not to me."

Whether he agrees because he thinks I'm crazy or because he thinks Finnick might still be alive, he agrees. "I'll make sure a team is sent to the site Cressida told us about."

I walk away from him but I don't go back to my seat with the Hawthornes. I go to Johanna instead.

She speaks before I can say a word. "If he's alive, we'll find him. If he's dead and there's anything left of him, we'll find him."

I sit beside her and lean back against the hard metal seat. "They won't let us go, I don't think."

She turns and looks at me directly, and it's hard not to shy away from her intense, angry eyes. "That has never stopped me from doing what I want before," she says, "and it will not stop me now. If things really have changed, if this is a different world that we live in, then we get to fight for the ones we love even if it means fighting for the right to find what's left of them and mourn them. Fight, Annie. If there's anything in your mind that tells you something is worth fighting for, fight for it."

"My mind is broken." I say it as much to myself as I do to her.

She leans back in her own chair and drums her fingers on the armrests. "Maybe. Is it broken when it comes to him, though? I bet not."

I chew my bottom lip and hope she's right about that.

"Look, Annie, I've been meaning to talk to you," she says, making me sit back down just after I stand up. "Finnick was… is… my friend. That's all. I know some people thought we slept together in the Capitol or that I'm in love with him. I don't know if you ever heard that, but it's not true. He's the best friend I've ever had, that's all. He loves you. We spent time alone, yes, but when it was safe all he talked about was you.

"I want to find my friend, Annie, and I want him to be alive. If he's not, and maybe he isn't, I want to find something of him and I want to say goodbye properly. I'm going to miss him if he's gone, so much. He can't be gone."

I do something then that I haven't done since before my Games. I make the first move to hug someone. Johanna Mason is the last person most people would probably expect to be willing to accept a hug but she only stiffens for a second before she hugs me back just as tightly, only to let go when she notices Plutarch watching us.

She's nice but I leave her to Beetee and return to my seat with the Hawthornes. Posy immediately climbs onto my lap and kneels so she can wrap her little arms around my neck. "Do you want to draw a picture?" she asks softly. "Mommy let me bring my pencils and some paper."

"Posy, don't bother her," Rory whispers.

"It's alright," I tell him, squeezing her when her face falls. "I'd like to draw a picture."

I draw a picture of her drawing a picture for me. She draws me a picture of what she thinks District Four looks like. All the fish she draws wear pink bows and the boat in the picture is colored the brightest pink she has in her box.

It makes me smile.

Only for a moment, though, because we have to buckle into our seats to land on the outskirts of the city.

We're all loaded into an armored car that hurtles quickly through the rubble and herds of brightly colored people to a hospital. I'm a little worried that they won't let me out of the hospital once I go in but Haymitch offers me his arm and I know I'm safe with him. He's in charge, after all. And I need to see Gale or Peeta or Katniss. I don't trust Cressida to tell me about Finnick, she's from the Capitol.

Peeta and Katniss are both in the burn unit and only her mother and Haymitch are allowed in to see them. I wait with Johanna and Beetee for Haymitch to emerge while the Hawthornes are taken by Fulvia to Gale's room. Plutarch's already gone to meet with someone apparently more important than us.

Haymitch looks shell-shocked when he emerges.

Showing agility that surprises us all, Beetee jumps up from his chair and pushes it underneath Haymitch's legs, knocking him back and into the chair. "They're alive, aren't they?" he asks.

He nods and buries his face in his hands. "She's hurt worse than he is, but they'll both survive. Coin sent medics to the Capitol, though. Primrose was one of them. She's worse off than either of them. The doctors don't know if she'll make it."

My heart breaks for the Everdeens. I don't know them well but I know that Katniss will be broken if she survives and her sister doesn't. Both of them need to live. That's what will make things right in the world.

And Finnick.

Finnick needs to be alive.

Johanna grabs my hand as I turn to leave. "See if Hawthorne knows anything," she whispers. "Find out where exactly it happened. Then come back and I'll get us out of here."

I squeeze Haymitch's shoulder and flee in the direction I saw Hazelle and her children go. I find Posy, Vick, and Hazelle in a waiting area. I tell them what Haymitch said and Hazelle tells me to wait for Rory to come out and then go see Gale. She's going to see if she can do anything for Katniss and her mother.

I do like she said and go in when Rory comes to watch his younger siblings.

I'm nervous because I've only really said a few things to him and now I have to ask him about something that will probably make me cover my ears and lose all sense of reality. I square my shoulders and try to be as strong as I can.

Gale tries to tell me first that he's so sorry, that he would've saved Finnick if he could have. Then he says he can't tell me where it happened because some commander or another, and I imagine it's Plutarch and Coin themselves, has ordered it be kept a secret.

"No, listen," I say, interrupting him. "Pretend it was someone you loved. Pretend it was Katniss or your little sister. Anyone that means the world to you. You have someone like that, don't you?"

His mouth is in a tight line of pain, maybe physical and mental, but I can see he's starting to understand. "Yeah, I do."

"Pretend someone from the Capitol and I were the only ones who could tell you what happened," I push. "You don't know me that well and you don't trust people from the Capitol. Would you take our word for it? Would you demand know where the person you love more than anything was last seen? Would you go to that place, even if it's just to collect whatever is left of that person? Would you?"

He nods once, rubbing a hand over his face, and beckons me closer to the bed. "You're not going alone, are you?"

"Johanna's coming with me."

I lean down to brush a thread off his pillow and he murmurs the place where Finnick may have died.

* * *

_Well, that's this chapter. I hope you liked it. I didn't mean for Hazelle to have such a big role but she's sticking around. I like her, don't you? And she'd be good for Annie. Review? Maybe?_


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **There are some lyrics in this chapter… from the classic Irish/English song _Danny Boy_. Said lyrics are not mine. It's probably in public domain now but, the point is, I don't own. It just works to play with here. I think. You'll have to let me know...

* * *

Johanna is better at blending in than I expected. She had a pocket full of coins and that bought us each the uniform of an underground Avox from a shopkeeper who is busy hiding under his desk. Luckily the Avoxes have fully sided with the rebels and we can blend in and belong at the same time. We don't dare ask Pollux, Katniss' cameraman who survived, to show us the way though. We'll find it on our own.

The sewers stink and that Finnick may have died beneath a pile of lizard mutts in them almost makes me lose my nerve.

"I'm going to lose my lunch," Johanna mutters as we descend yet another ladder. "Maybe it was better that I lost my mind and had to stay in Thirteen."

"Because of the smell or the mutts?" I ask. "Maybe you like one more than the other?"

"Very funny," she laughs. "I didn't know you had a spunky side. I like it."

I didn't know I had a spunky side either. Maybe it's just nerves about what I'm about to find. I exhale deeply when we stop on a landing. The sewers are deserted and I shine a flashlight she filched from the shopkeeper down through the metal floor. "Just two more levels. I can't see anything yet, can you?"

"Nope, just the mental image of what's to come."

I have to keep going before I freeze up so I don't respond. I climb down the next ladder. Johanna's chattering on about the smell and the grossness of the place, wondering if the Capitol citizens have any idea what they live above. I hear something though, something from below. I strain my ears to hear around her voice, not wanting to give myself away as crazier than usual. There's a part of me that thinks I hear something and another part of me knows I could just be hearing the sound of a mutt alive down there. I'm glad Johanna also stole two weapons from a pile of guns collected from surrendered or captured Peacekeepers.

On the next landing, the one Gale said Katniss dropped the holo from, Johanna's still talking but what I heard is louder.

_And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me_

I pause on the ladder and tap her foot so she stops without stepping on my hand. I pretend like I'm listening for soldiers or for mutts.

_And all my grave will warm and sweeter be_

The words are real. They're not just in my mind. They're being sung in a faint, faltering voice.

"And then you'll kneel and whisper that you love me."

"What?" Johanna says when I say the next line in the ancient song called _Danny Boy_.

I ignore her and sing the final line in the song. "And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me." I leap off the ladder almost two-thirds of the way up and land on a pile of slippery, scaley mutt-flesh. I drop my gun and use both hands to pull back the white body of a mutt. "No, no, no, no."

"Annie?" Johanna drops down beside me. "Annie? What is it?"

I don't answer her. I start the song over, loudly. I need him to hear me and hold on to my voice. He can't sleep in peace until I come because I'm here and he can't sleep now.

She understands my lack of answer and joins me in pulling back full bodies and pieces of bodies. The blood of the mutts is green and thick. It makes it hard to grip and hold onto anything. Our uniforms are covered in the stuff in seconds. At least I think they are. All I care about is what's underneath it all.

She pushes against my shoulder to get my attention. She's found something, something important.

A trident.

"Please, please, please, please, please," I chant as I slip and slide, trying to push the last of the body parts away. So long as I don't push something clad in gray away, I'll be alright.

Johanna uses the trident to spear larger body parts and fling them into the sludge that runs beside us. It's much quicker than using our hands.

"Sing the song, Annie," she says breathlessly. "Keep singing the damn song."

I know what she means. I need to sing because he might be able to hear me. My mind is whirling too fast and it's hard to remember the words of the song my mother used to sing to my father, the song I taught Finnick by singing it incessantly after my Games. I remember a random line from the second verse and start there, trying to keep my voice steady and even. "But come ye back when summer's in the meadow, or when the valley's hushed and white with snow. 'Tis I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow."

She flings the torso of a mutt into the sludge and gasps. "Annie, to the left," she directs me. "Move that leg."

I do what she says and I see what I need to see.

"Finnick." I drop to my knees beside his head and cup my hands around his face. His eyes flicker once and stay shut. "Johanna! He's alive."

She makes quick work of clearing off the rest of his body and comes to kneel on the other side of him. She presses her fingers to his neck and pulls back his uniform. "Talk to him, Annie. Keep singing, talk to him. Make him focus on your voice." She taps the side of his face too roughly for my liking but his eyes flicker again. "That's right, Odair. You're making your wife sift through a pile of mutt guts and sewage to find you. Don't you dare die now. I'll bring you back to life and kill you myself."

"Johanna!" I squeak.

She's got the top of her Avox uniform off and has removed the shirt she wore underneath. She puts the uniform back on and pulls a canteen of water from a pocket on the leg. She shoves the shirt and canteen into my hands. "It doesn't matter what you say. Say something harsh if you have to startle him, say something sappy if that's keeping him focused. Tear the shirt into strips and pour water on it. Use it to clean the area around any obvious wounds. My communicator isn't working so I'm going to have to get higher up for reception. Keep talking to him. Keep his eyes flickering. Clean up what you can. I'll be right back."

She doesn't give me a chance to say I'm not strong enough to do this on my own. She's already scaled a ladder and a half before I realize she's gone.

I can't let him die now.

I won't let him die now.

So I sing the song, over and over again as I wipe down his wounds as best I can.

I try not see the teeth marks and the tears and the way it looks like his shoulder is almost completely separated from his body. I tell myself that I can't see bone where I shouldn't see bone. It's not bone, it's just funny colored skin. I'm not good at lying to myself.

But I keep singing because I every time I stop, even to catch my breath, his eyelids flicker. They never open all the way, but he wants me to keep singing so I'll sing for him.

* * *

It takes Johanna so long to come back with help.

She comes back with four Avoxes who worked in the sewers, based on their clothes, and they carefully move Finnick onto a stretcher. She catches me when I slip standing up. "How is he?"

I put my left hand over my left ear and grip his hand.

She puts her arm around my waist and makes sure I move along with the Avoxes and the stretcher. "I talked to Haymitch on my communicator," she says, maybe just to hear herself talk. "The Avoxes are going to take us on an elevator to the roof. Haymitch will have a medical hovercraft waiting and we'll take him straight to the hospital."

I can hardly see through the tears pouring from my eyes. I huff in frustration and she uses a clean part of her sleeve to wipe my face. "At least I've got him back," I say with a whimper. "At least I've got him back."

* * *

_Cliffhanger! I know. I'm sorry. Or not. I kind of gave this away earlier in the story but I hope you like it enough to come back soon for more! And please do review if you've gotten this far… Please?_


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **Thanks for reading this far along. From here on out things will veer a little from canon, obviously, but my goal is to keep everything believable and in character. I hope you like it!

* * *

Someone gives a feral scream. Someone grunts in pain.

Hazelle appears in front of me and cups my face in her hands. "Stop, Annie, stop," she says, lowering herself to the floor as I fall. "Calm down, honey, and please stop thrashing before you hurt yourself."

It was me that screamed. It was Haymitch that grunted. He's doubled over in the corner and my throat hurts from screaming.

I got lost for a minute but I remember now.

They wouldn't let me go into the room with Finnick. Haymitch tried to catch me.

"No, no, no," Hazelle says quietly as I start to try and get away from her. "They'll never let you in if you're violent and crazed, honey. You have to calm down."

She's whispering and it bothers me. Mags always spoke more quietly the louder I got. She said it would make me focus on her and calm down faster. And now Hazelle's doing it. I have to listen to her.

"That's a good girl," she says when some of the fight drains from me. "That's a good girl. You want to be with him, right?"

I sniffle and nod.

"Then you have to stay calm," she murmurs. "You have to be calm and you have to change your clothes and wash up. You can't go in covered in whatever was in that sewer. Do you know why?"

I probably do but I bit my lip and wait for her to tell me.

"You can't go in like this because it won't be good for Finnick. You could hurt him. You don't want to do that, do you?"

I shake my head and scrabble backward, using the wall to help myself stand up. "Help me?"

She exchanges a glance with Haymitch who nods and gestures toward a Venia, the woman from Katniss' prep team with the facial tattoos. I don't know why she's standing so close but she takes Hazelle and I into another room. Together, Hazelle and Venia strip me out of the filthy, stiff uniform and wash every inch of my body with strongly scented cleansers. They move quickly and they're so gentle. Venia dresses me in a white tunic and white pants, things I've seen staff at the hospital wearing. After she's tucked my hair up under a white cap and tied a mask over my mouth and nose, I turn and see that Hazelle is in the same outfit, her District Thirteen clothes folded and on a nearby chair.

"I'll go in with you," she says.

I am so happy she doesn't ask me if I want her to go with him. I'm so happy she doesn't make me ask. I just hold out a hand that Venia's covered with a white glove and feel stronger when she takes my hand.

Venia slips back out the door and we're locked in while a fine mist washes over us, no doubt disinfecting us again. "Your children," I say while we wait for the doors to open.

"They're with Gale and they're fine," she assures me. "In fact, they told me that Annie needed me and that I'd better come take care of you."

"I feel bad. I'm an adult, they're children."

"Every single person needs someone to hold their hand sometimes. Children understand that better than anyone. And people who have children understand it too. I would not be here if I didn't want to be or if I really and truly needed to be somewhere else. I promise you that, Annie Odair."

Odair. Annie Odair.

It's who I am now.

The doors slide open and a nurse beckons us into the sterile room where a team of doctors are surrounding Finnick.

"Hello, Annie," a voice says over a speak. It's Dr. Aurelius, who I spent a lot of time with in District Thirteen. "You're doing very well. I won't bother you much. I just wanted you to know that I'm here and I'm proud of you. Now the doctors have agreed that you can stand at the top of the bed. Stay calm and focused and you'll be fine."

They make room for me and Hazelle stands behind me, keeping one hand on my shoulder.

The doctors are talking, maybe to me. Probably not. I don't hear a word.

All that matters is Finnick.

I press my mask covered mouth to his forehead and kiss him.

The doctors let me keep my hand on the left side of his face while they work.

"Annie," Hazelle says firmly, squeezing my shoulder. "Annie?"

I don't know how long it's been and I forgot she was there. I blink and try to clear my mind.

"Honey, the doctors are finished here," she says. "They've done all they can for right now. They want to know if you want to know all the details or if you'd rather have someone else hear it and make decisions that need to be made."

"I have to decide?"

She nods. "Yes, you're his wife so you should either make the decisions or just make one to let someone else make the others."

I think of the people I trust, and I don't trust myself to be solely responsible for him. I trust three people; Haymitch, Hazelle, and Johanna. Haymitch has Katniss and Peeta, and Katniss' sister, to worry about. Johanna isn't recovered from the torture she underwent, no matter how much she cares for Finnick. Hazelle has her children to think of.

"Dr. Aurelius?" I say, wondering if he's still listening.

"I'm here, Annie," he says. "Remember what we talked about in District Thirteen. You can't be afraid to ask for help. Know that anyone you ask has a right to say no but trust yourself to ask, because you trust the person you might ask. If you're willing to ask them to do something this important, chances are they won't say no because they already care about you. You wouldn't ask someone you didn't care about, someone who didn't care about you. Be brave, Annie, and be strong for yourself and for your husband."

I close my eyes and try to center myself. Hazelle is still standing in front of me when I open them again. "I'm sorry," I mumble.

She shakes her head and pats my cheek. "Tell me when you want to know the details and I'll help you understand them."

I go back to focusing on Finnick while she speaks to the doctors.

After a few minutes, she goes one way while I'm ushered back to Venia's care in the room I first came from. They're taking Finnick to his room and I'll be able to see him once he's settled. He's still alive so I trust the doctors to keep him that way. Sort of.

* * *

I find Johanna and Haymitch while I wait to see Finnick again and tell them the little bit that I know. Neither seems to particularly mind that I'm letting Hazelle be in charge and Johanna asks if she can be the one to go tell Gale. She seems oddly eager to do it, so I let her.

Haymitch shakes his head as she disappears down the hallway. "Sorry," he says bluntly. "I did what I promised you I wouldn't and I underestimated you."

I shake my head. "I didn't expect to find him alive. Even I know I'm not that crazy. Don't apologize." We silently agree to that and I ask about Peeta, Katniss, and her sister.

"Peeta's getting new skin now. Katniss will be up for that as soon as she stops fighting the sedation. Her sister needs to stabilize more before they can do that for her." He rubs his hands against his face and sighs. "Skin can be healed, anyway."

"And poor Dr. Aurelius will really earn his keep between all of us," I point out, smiling a little when he laughs in surprise. "What? It's true."

"That it is. Maybe I'll even make an appointment with the man."

"You should," I tell him honestly, because he really has helped me. "Sleep first, though. You look exhausted."

"One day. I'll sleep one day," he says wryly. "For now, I've got to go meet with Plutarch and arrange for him to keep every damn camera out of this hospital."

I reach out and touch his arm just before he walks away. "Thank you. For being his friend."

He shakes his head once. "Not gonna stop now. Not gonna stop now."

He's just disappeared around a corner when Dr. Aurelius appears. "Come on, Annie," he says, beckoning me forward. "You can sit with him for a while."

I don't have to be told twice.

* * *

Hazelle finds me an hour and a half later sitting on the stool Dr. Aurelius directed me to and singing _Danny Boy _softly to my husband. He's covered in bandages and there are tubes of every variety protruding from his body. I've been told not to touch his right shoulder, or the right side of his body really, and his eyes don't even flutter. The machines keep a steady beep, though, and that reassures me because they mean he's alive.

"How's he doing?" she asks as she steps up softly behind me.

"He seems peaceful." I wish it was more than that. I glance at her and wonder if I'll ever be able to show her how much her help means to me. "Is there anything I should know?"

She's quiet for a long time before she answers. "Infection is the biggest threat, they say. They're studying the remains of the mutts to see if there's some particular venom or something like that they need to combat in him. With the bites and the open wounds, it's a concern. There's no easy way to say this, honey, but if he has or gets an infection he's not strong enough now fight it. If he doesn't have one and he doesn't get one, he's probably strong enough to survive."

I close my eyes and imagine Finnick as he was before. "What will he be like if survives?" I ask, willing myself not to cry. Not yet.

"That they don't know. The bites did so much damage to his shoulder and his chest. He probably won't get full use of his arm back."

I shake my head before she can say more. "He'd still be my husband. I just want my husband."

* * *

_Well? Did you like it? I hope so..._


	5. Chapter 5

Two days later I'm woken up from my makeshift bed on two chairs in the waiting area by Johanna poking a bony finger into my shoulder. I've been good and kept my promise to Hazelle that I eat and sleep, but I never go far from Finnick's room and Johanna always stays with him when I leave.

"Come on, scatterbrain," she says in the most endearing of ways; Katniss is 'brainless' and I am 'scatterbrain' to her. When all of this over, I'll think of something to call her. "Wake up."

I blink quickly and pull myself up. "What? What's wrong?"

"They think he's waking up. Dr. Aurelius is already in there. Get going, scatterbrain."

I stumble off the chairs and stagger into the cleansing room. I hardly notice Venia slipping gloves onto my hands and a mask onto my face. I must stand still for her, though, because she doesn't hold me tightly. I get sprayed when she leaves and wait with my toes against the doors for them to slide open.

Dr. Aurelius is waiting on the other side when they do. He's dressed in the same white uniform I am and stops me before I get to the bed. "Now, Annie, we don't know what state he'll be in when he wakes up. You're prepared for that, aren't you?"

"As I can be," I say impatiently. "What do I do?"

"Just be here and be strong. I talked with him enough in District Thirteen to know that he'll want to see you and only you when he opens his eyes."

I scrunch my nose behind my mask. "Did you say it was alright to Katniss to see Peeta those times in Thirteen? When he tried to strangle her?"

"Unfortunately, yes. In my own defense, I had no idea about his condition."

I accept that with a nervous nod. "You won't go far away?"

He shakes his head. "I'll be right behind you."

We're just in time too, because a female doctor whose neon purple pixie haircut belies her serious and solemn demeanor waves us over. She positions me so that Finnick will see me and only me. I like her very much.

His eyes are fluttering and I hold my breath.

And then his eyes are open.

They're cloudy and glazed but they're still the sea green eyes I love so much.

I murmur his name and stroke the left side of his face.

His eyes open wider and a tear leaks from his eye, dripping down his temple onto the pillow.

The doctor explains that she's going to take out the breathing tube and see how he does on his own. She has an oxygen mask ready if he needs help but she'd rather he not have the tube down his throat. "Keep your mask on please, Mrs. Odair," she says. "He's still susceptible to germs and we need to keep the environment as sterile as possible for the time being."

She slowly but firmly pulls the tube out and I follow her instructions to keep him focused on me even though he coughs and is in pain.

He moves his mouth, flexing his jaw before he says just two words.

"My Annie."

* * *

The next few days pass in a hazy blur.

Finnick sleeps most of the time and I stay with him whenever I'm allowed. Sometimes Dr. Aurelius stays in the room with me and we have my therapy sessions while my husband sleeps. He doesn't talk much yet, except to ask me to sing, so I talk and I sing.

When I can't be with him, I keep my promise to Hazelle and sleep or eat. She and her children have moved to rooms in the President's Mansion but she comes and sits with me for at least two hours a day. Sometimes she brings Posy and we color pictures together. Finnick always smiles when I show him the sharks and dolphins dressed in pink tutus.

Today, though, Finnick is having a procedure done on the muscles in his shoulder. The purple haired doctor said I could be there but I trust her, and I think he'd rather I stay safely away, so I thank her but stay away.

Haymitch is in meetings about what to do with President Snow and Johanna, I think, is either plotting a way to kill Enobaria or plotting a way to seduce Gale Hawthorne who was released from the hospital two days ago. I make my way to the burn unit, having got Dr. Aurelius' permission and getting Nurse Everdeen's permission as I go.

I go to Peeta's room first, I suppose because I know him better from our time in the cells and in District Thirteen before he was sent away.

He smiles genuinely when he sees me. "Annie! Finnick's going to be okay?"

"Mostly. As much as any of us, I suppose." I look over the pink skin grafts on his arms and bare chest, seeing just a few on his face although he doesn't have eyebrows right now. "How are you? Burns and in your mind?"

"Getting better, from both," he says slowly. "I have to get better, so I will. I'll be as better as I can be anyway. Are you okay?"

"I'll be as okay as I can be."

He smiles again. "Dr. Aurelius says the same thing to everyone. I like it though."

"I do too. You're going to be okay, Peeta. You'll love her again." I shake my head when he looks skeptical. "I fell in love with Finnick two years before I was reaped. I've only ever told you and Dr. Aurelius that, not even Finnick, but the point is that the Capitol didn't break that, even though they tried more than once. It took me time to remember that I loved him, but I did."

"I want to love her again. I do love her, I think. I suppose I just want to be sure of it."

"You can't be, not all the time. Think about how long you loved her before she knew." I laugh softly with him and find myself edging toward the door. "All you have to do now is work harder to love her. Believe me, it's worth the fight."

"Thank you, Annie, I'll remember that." He raises a burnt eyebrow and smiles when he sees me move. "You better go back to him."

I blush but keep my hand on the doorknob. "Oh, I can't go back yet. I have to go visit Katniss, though. Any messages?"

"No, I'll remember everything and tell her when I can tell her myself."

I wave goodbye and walk to the other end of the hallway. Nurse Everdeen slips out of the room when she sees me, telling me she told Katniss I was coming and that she's staying awake to wait for me.

Her greeting is so different from Peeta's. "I should've gone back for him," she sobs.

I knew this would be harder so I take a deep breath and try to look at her burned body without flinching. "He didn't die, Katniss, so that doesn't matter. He doesn't even have a infection from it. You dropped the holo because you thought it was better than leaving him to be devoured by mutts, and it was. When you dropped the holo, you killed the mutts and that saved him. Simple as that."

She blinks three times and her shoulders slump. "Do you really believe that?"

I shake my head and hold my hand up when she starts to protest. "No, I don't believe that. I know that, Katniss. I talked to Cressida and Pollux and Gale about what happened. Back in District Four, dynamite is sometimes used for mass fishing. Finnick was the fish caught in the bottom of the net that survived the blast, he's the fish that we'd throw back and give a second chance at life. He has that chance because you blew up the mutts. That's what I know."

It's easy to tell she's going to take some convincing, but she nods in understanding. Maybe she'll think about it and realize I'm right. "I'm sorry to stay such a short time but I think I'll allowed to see Finnick now. Get better, Katniss, we all need you."

I run away before she can argue with me.

* * *

The purple haired doctor meets me outside Finnick's new room, one that doesn't required an entire body cleansing before visiting although the mask and gloves are still necessary, and smiles when I apologize for never asking her name. "Sexta Willoughby," she says. "Please call me Sexta rather than Dr. Willoughby."

"Then call me Annie rather than Mrs. Odair," I agree.

"Alright. Did you want to wait for Mrs. Hawthorne or would you like me to tell you about the procedure and the next step in Finnick's treatment?"

I chew the inside of my lip and consider this. I'm alone right now. Hazelle and Dr. Aurelius and Haymitch and Johanna are nowhere nearby. But I'm Finnick's wife. I can do this. Maybe. It's worth a try. "You can tell me," I say as confidently as possible, "but please tell her too?"

She nods in agreement and proceeds to tell me about the electrical treatment they used to try and stimulate the muscles in his shoulder. She tells me that even with using every tool available in the Capitol, all the things they used to make victors whole again after Games, she's not sure how much he will ever be able to use his arm again. Or even if he will at all. The mutts teeth ripped through too much when they went for what Gale called the "death bite" and even if he'd been rescued immediately it wouldn't have made too much difference. She tells me that he'll have as much physical therapy as he wants and that it will be the best way to accomplish anything. More electrical treatments are likely, but they'll be less invasive and followed by therapy.

I tell her I understand and ask if water therapy would be possible.

She brightens and scribbles something on her clipboard. "I can't believe I hadn't thought of that, but yes, absolutely. We have a pool here that I'll arrange for us to use. It won't be the same as the ocean, but it should work until you can go home."

I'm oddly proud of myself for thinking of it.

"You know, if you wanted to swim in the pool just to relax and calm down," she adds, "go ahead and ask Dr. Aurelius to sign off on you using the pool for therapy. That shouldn't be a problem at all."

I don't tell her that I don't swim without Finnick. I just ask if I can see him now.

She helps me with my mask and gloves then pushes the door open for me.

Finnick is shifting uneasily in the bed even though his eyes are firmly closed. Remembering how I used to rest so fitfully, I hurry across the room and rub my thumb on his temple, just like he used to do for me. He relaxes almost immediately. He tries to talk, though, and Sexta said he should rest awhile longer so I start singing softly. He's peaceful in a heartbeat.

* * *

**Author's Note: **I'm so thrilled you seem to be liking this little story, and you must be if you're still here. Please let me know though? I'm needy like that! ;-)


	6. Chapter 6

Johanna skirts a wide arc around a water fountain an attendant is using and shivers. "Coin's going to be sorry she called this meeting when she sees the glare on your face," she comments as we follow Fulvia Cardew down the hallway. "You're not planning to knife her or anything like that, are you?"

The idea is oddly tempting but if I did it I wouldn't be able to see Finnick and that's not acceptable. "I don't understand why she's having a meeting of living victors when three of the eight can't leave the hospital," I mutter. "Beetee said he could've set up a video link so the meeting could have been at the hospital and at the Mansion."

"Well, we'll make sure we keep it short if we can. Did you leave Hazelle in charge of Finnick?"

I nod as we reach the room designated for the meeting. Johanna and I slip into seats on the same side of the table as Haymitch, leaving Beetee to sit next to Enobaria.

President Coin gets right to business and tells us that each victor still in the hospital can be represented by another victor in the room. Johanna immediately volunteers to speak for Peeta, reminding everyone that she heard his screams while they were tortured so she's the best fit. Haymitch says he'll speak for Katniss. When Coin asks if I'm speaking for Finnick, I just glower at her. I'd rather be speaking _to_ Finnick but this will have to do. Beetee says he'll speak up if he doesn't think we're representing them just right.

The first order of business is that Coin wants to decide how to execute President Snow. She wants Katniss to do it, or possibly Finnick, to do it. This makes Johanna grumble a bit but she's drowned out by Haymitch's answer. "Depends on when it's happening, I suppose. If it's happening today, she's not ready. Annie?"

I shake my head firmly. "He hasn't even sat up on his own yet."

"Yes, I suppose especially with Finnick it's his trident wielding arm that was hurt the worst," Plutarch Heavensbee says, having slipped into the room. "I think we can begin the transition phase while injuries are recovered from but the sooner Coriolanus Snow is no longer of this world, the better off we will all be."

I really wish I had a knife.

"Three days," Coin decides. "The execution will be in three days. I think it would be best if every victor be there. If there are physical reasons that make it impossible, we'll adjust. Ideally, the Mockingjay will deliver the fatal arrow. Considering Odair's injuries, if Everdeen can't do it, we'll have Gale Hawthorne deliver the arrow. Perhaps it would even be better to get away from the focus being on the victors and let an ordinary citizen of Panem do it."

She's a fool, but it sounds like things are decided and if they are, I can leave. I'll take it.

She and Plutarch talk more about plans but I let my mind wander until I hear the mention of a final Hunger Games. They ask us to consider the possibility of children of the Capitol in the Games and tell us that the victors will be the decision makers in a vote before Snow's execution. Thankfully, that's the end to the meaning, and I try to flee.

Plutarch gets in the way. "Would it be possible, my dear, to get some footage of Finnick? Just to reassure his many fans that he's alive and recovering?"

He would have a knife in his eye if I had a knife to put there. "No."

"I don't mean to push, but Finnick would understand how important this is if you'd just explain it."

"No," I repeat. "Leave him alone."

He starts to argue but Haymitch steps between us. "The girl said no, Heavensbee. She's his wife. She speaks for him. Let her go and leave them alone."

He gives up, but I know it's only for now. "Thank you," I say to Haymitch as we leave the room. "Are you going to tell Katniss about the execution and the vote about one more Games?"

He exhales loudly and nods. "I suppose I have to. If you want, I'll explain it to Finnick too. Not what Plutarch wants, but the other two things." He pats my back when I grimace. "Take care of his body and his soul, Annie. These other things, they're not so important."

I nod in shy agreement. "Thank you, Haymitch."

He walks me back to the hospital where Hazelle reports that Finnick mostly slept but that Sexta wants to have him try real food for dinner. These are tiny baby steps but I'll take them.

* * *

I don't have to wear gloves or a mask when I feed him mashed vegetables for dinner. They aren't appealing and I don't know if I'd count them as "real" food, but they're what Sexta gave me. Someone missed the mark, though, and put a bowl of mashed peas on the tray and when Finnick sees them he lashes out with his left hand, sending the bowl across the room where it shatters against the white wall.

It takes me a minute to make the connection between the sheer terror in his eyes and the smear of green on the stark, white wall.

The mutt blood.

Lying under their oozing bodies, clad in white scales and uniforms, for days. Of course he's terrified.

I lay my body over his, careful not to put weight on his wounds, and force him to see me. "Finnick, look. It's me. It's Annie. I'm not a mutt. Not a mutt. I'm Annie."

He's listening but he's not calming down as quickly as I'd like so I change tactics and move to lie beside him on the bed, using my body to block the smear on the wall. I hope someone's watching us and will come clean that soon. Singing won't work, I'm oddly sure of that. So I do the next best thing. I recite a poem we found once in a very old book. It's called "For Annie" and the author was someone named Edgar Allan Poe. It's long and I start at the beginning but when I get to the twelfth verse, he falls asleep just as I expected he would.

_She tenderly kissed me_

_ She fondly caressed,_

_And then I fell gently_

_ To sleep on her breast -_

_Deeply to sleep_

_ From the heaven of her breast._

I kissed him, I caressed him, and then he fell asleep with his head on my chest.

Dr. Aurelius slips into the room behind someone armed with a sponge and a bucket. "Beautiful, Annie," he murmurs. "I saw the whole thing and it was absolutely perfect. That was just what he needed."

I'm not so sure about that but he knows better than me. "No more peas," I whisper. "Never."

"Of course. I'll be taking on some of Finnick's care now and I'll leave specific instructions that none of his food is to be green, especially if it's mashed."

It's good enough for me and I'm done talking to him. He knows it and he leaves.

Finnick sleeps for almost an hour and he wakes up when Hazelle comes in with a new tray of food. He looks at me and I see the apology for earlier in his eyes.

"Shh," I murmur. "Let's see what mashed vegetables you're having your second dinner."

"You'll like it," Hazelle assures him. "We've got mashed carrots, mashed parsnips, and mashed sweet potatoes. Doesn't that sound delicious?"

I let a giggle escape at the look on his face. "Sexta and Dr. Aurelius said that if you eat two of the three vegetables you'll be allowed to go in the pool for therapy."

"Annie," he whines, his voice still hoarse from lack of use.

"Be firm," Hazelle whispers in my ear. "Men, especially husbands, can be a pain when they're sick or hurt. You have to be loving but firm or they'll whine like that for a very long time."

I smile at Finnick. "You wouldn't do that to me, would you?"

He gives Hazelle a look almost playful enough to be the man who used to tease me gently about how the shells I collected on the beach were going to pull my skirt down. Then he shakes his head at me and opens his mouth. He swallows the spoonful of carrots I give him and smirks at her before grimacing. "That's disgusting."

I scoop out a spoon of parsnips. He declares them disgusting too. "That's what you get for going off to war without telling me," I mutter before plastering a smile on my face. "Here, let's try sweet potatoes and then you can pick which two you want to eat."

He heard my mutterings, of which I am glad, and dutifully lets me feed him all three bowls. "I'm sorry," he says when they're empty.

I lean in and kiss him, wishing I could do it more now that there isn't a papery mask between us. "It's alright. That's all I'm going to say about it. I love you." I kiss him again. "I'm going to leave for a minute while Haymitch comes and talks to you."

He groans and rubs his left hand over his eyes. "Don't say you love me and then mention Haymitch, alright? That's just wrong."

I laugh and slide off the bed. "Okay, I won't. Be good for Haymitch."

* * *

**Author's Note: **Totally don't own the very real poem "For Annie" by Edgar Allan Poe. Who knew he wrote sweet love poems, right? Not I. I recommend reading the whole thing.

And I hope you liked this chapter! Let me know?


	7. Chapter 7

Finnick and I make the deal that he'll go to the execution if Sexta, Dr. Aurelius, and I think it's best for him on the morning of it. Coin's not happy with the lack of decision and Plutarch hems and haws about having to make two sets of plans but Haymitch tells him to shut up and delegate it to someone else.

I'm nervous about taking Finnick to the pool for therapy, and that comes before the execution. Dr. Aurelius wants me to be in the water with him, and I think I want to. The doctor suggested that since the first session will be low-impact that maybe we'd like to have Hazelle and one of her children come along. He suggested that I could give a swimming lesson while the therapist works with Finnick.

Hazelle agrees far more quickly than I expected and says that she'll bring Posy, because the boys are amusing Primrose Everdeen while she keeps recovering.

So Posy is already sitting nervously on the tiled bench beside the pool when I arrive with Sexta, who will be the therapist as well as the doctor, and Finnick in a wheelchair.

Sexta found full-body suits that are buoyant for each of us, because Finnick has to wear one to cover his still open wounds. The suits are white and surprisingly comfortable. Hazelle tells us she's not swimming but that Posy is very excited to learn.

The little girl doesn't look so excited. I beckon her to come with me and we hide behind a screen while I give her a gift from me and Octavia. Her gray eyes light up when she sees the bright pink tulle tutu skirt I pull over her arms and settle around her waist. "Things that swim wear pink, that's what you said, right?" I hold her hand while she twirls. "You don't have to be scared, you know, I'm a very good swimmer."

"You're from District Four. Isn't a law that you have to a good swimmer?"

"Not a law, no, but it's best if you are." I stand and offer her my hand. She takes it without a second thought and we head back to the pool together. I get distracted while Hazelle's reminds Posy to listen to everything I say, after oohing and aahing over the tulle skirt. There's a harness of some sort attached to the side of the pool and Sexta is already settling Finnick into the harness. I relax a little when he smiles at me.

I settle Posy on my hip and walk down the steps into the water. Her little fingers dig into my shoulder when she feels the water around her body but she doesn't cry. Part of the pool is shallow enough that I get her used to the water by walking around with her on my hip. It doesn't take long before her little feet are kicking and giggles are escaping from her lips.

"Annie?" Sexta says, swimming easily up to where Posy and I are. "I'm starting slow today so I'm done but I think it'd be good for him to stay in the water a little while longer. If your little swimmer here is willing, why don't you two go play in the water over by Finnick? I'm staying the room, but some fun might be the best medicine."

Posy immediately calls out and asks her mother's permission. Hazelle gives it when I nod. "Can I not sit on your hip the whole time?" the little girl asks eagerly.

Sexta touches a button on the leg of Posy's suit and it becomes a fully buoyant flotation device. She shows me how to adjust it and then climbs out of the pool to sit near the ever observant Dr. Aurelius and Hazelle.

"I wish I had a pretty tutu like that," Finnick says when we reach him. I can tell by his eyes that he's in pain but I can also see his fierce determination to stay in the water and have fun if he can.

I've still got one hand on her waist but I don't think she realizes it while she slaps her hands against the water. "You'd look silly in a tutu," she tells him. "Unless maybe it was blue. I bet Annie and Octavia could make you a blue one."

"Most people say I look best in green," he says, reaching out with his left hand and squeezing my free one.

Posy stops splashing long enough to consider him closely. She shakes her head. "No, blue. You look best in white but blue is next. You still don't want a tutu, though." She turns to be. "Teach me to swim now, please?"

We stay close to Finnick to do it, using the arm of the harness that stretches from the edge of the pool to where he is in the center as a place for her to hold on to while I teach her to kick. Finnick even helps by keep his hand under her stomach to teach her how to stay straight. She's an eager pupil but we keep the lesson to just a few minutes. Then Finnick teases me by getting Posy to beg me to show her tricks in the water.

I dive and corkscrew and twist and tickle her feet when she doesn't know where I am.

For the first time in a long time, I breathe easy.

Pool time is over for everyone when Posy announces that she has to go to the bathroom. I let Sexta and an attendant get Finnick out of the pool and dry my hair beside Dr. Aurelius. "Thank you for suggesting Posy come," I tell him before he can ask me how I think it went. "I feel bad using her but I would've been too scared to do this without her as a distraction."

"You're not using her, Annie," he says. "She had a very good time and I imagine she'll ask for another lesson very soon. Her mother is willing, are you?"

I nod and try to hide my smile behind a towel. "It's not wrong to have her here, for Finnick, I mean?"

"Absolutely not. Don't you think he was more relaxed because she was here?"

"He might've been putting on show for her."

"Maybe," he allows, "but that's not always a bad thing. You and I, we'll talk to him and see if your lessons with Posy should be just the two of your or if he wants to help. How does that sound?"

I don't hide my smile this time. "It sounds perfect."

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I ask Finnick as I try to keep myself from kicking Fulvia Cardew.

"I don't want to, but I have to," he says softly. "And I can do it. I'll do whatever you tell me to after this, just let me see this through?"

I scowl but agree, and try to sit still while Octavia combs my hair into a bun. We're all wearing the District Thirteen uniforms to the execution but Plutarch has decreed we look as best we can while doing it. That's why there's polish on my nails and my hair is neater than it has been since before I went into my arena. Sexta is fitting a brace on Finnick's chest and shoulder so he'll be safe and I've managed to make him agree to use a wheelchair. But I really don't like being in Snow's Mansion.

Octavia coughs to cover a laugh when Fulvia accidentally trips over my foot. Accidentally.

Effie Trinket walks into the room then, spies the can of spray tan in Fulvia's hand, the reason I was going to kick her, and snatches it. "Minimal," she says. "Haymitch said minimal and natural." Then she walks out with the can and I like someone from the Capitol.

Octavia finishes my hair and moves on to Finnick.

She finishes and slips out when Johanna arrives. It doesn't take long before Beetee and Haymitch come in too. Sexta leaves when Peeta arrives, promising me again that she'll be on the platform. Katniss arrives last and goes straight to Finnick.

He hugs her with the one arm he can move and tells her he accepts all the apologies I've told him she gave to me. "It doesn't matter now, Katniss. It's over. We did it."

She doesn't look quite as convinced but she doesn't argue as she steps back.

Enobaria arrives then and Beetee positions his wheelchair between her and Johanna. "How strange this is," he says, clearly seeking to ease tension by addressing his words to Finnick, "that it's you and I in wheelchairs. You look good, though. I'm truly glad we didn't lose you."

"Thanks, Volts. And thanks for getting us out of the arena, I don't think I said that before."

He nods as Plutarch sweeps into the room and announces it's almost time to go outside. He wants anyone that can stand to be standing when Katniss fires the arrow into Snow. Katniss pales beneath the makeup that's meant to conceal her burns when she hears that. To surprise of everyone in the room, it's Enobaria that makes a vocal protest.

"No." She turns to Katniss before she explains her answer. "Can you shoot sitting down? And still kill him on the first shot?"

Katniss blinks at her twice but nods.

She turns to Plutarch. "I think we should all be sitting down or standing up. Finnick can't stand up, so we should sit. All of us. We're the last eight victors of the Hunger Games and if you're all about moving on and healing, the eight of us sitting down is the best way to honor the other victors, our friends, is for us to all be united."

"And the tributes who weren't victors," Peeta adds. "We have to honor them too."

Plutarch looks slowly around the room before stepping into the hallway, where we hear him order six chairs be arranged on the stage with one angled so that Katniss while be able to shoot. He tells Fulvia to have Gale go out early and check the angle of Katniss' chair then returns to the room. "President Coin has also asked me to have all of you vote on a final Hunger Games involving the children of the Capitol," he says. "Would you like to debate it or just vote?"

"I vote no," Peeta says bluntly. "Absolutely not."

"I vote yes," Enobaria says. "They should get at least once chance to go through it."

Johanna grimaces and crosses her arms over her chest. "I hate to do it, but I agree with Enobaria. I vote yes."

"I'm with Peeta," Beetee declares, clearing his throat. "Enough is enough."

I wish I didn't have to vote but I do. "No. No more Games. Ever."

"I think I know how this will turn out so I'm going to vote with my heart instead of my mind," Haymitch says slowly. "I've seen too many district kids die. I vote yes."

Finnick shakes his head and stares straight ahead. "No. Start the new Panem without Games."

All eyes turn to Katniss then. She will either tie the vote by siding with her mentor, and Plutarch didn't say what to do in the event of a tie, or she will decide the vote by siding with the boy who wants so badly to know he loves her again. I feel bad for her.

She squares her shoulders and looks directly at Plutarch and only at him. "No. That's my vote. Can we do this now? I want to get back to Prim and find out when we can go home."

I'm standing close to Katniss so I reach out and squeeze her hand, letting her know that I understand and completely agree with everything she said. She smiles wearily at me and fiddles with the hem of her Mockingjay tunic. Then her eyes go wide in some sort of realization. "Wait! I need to change into a District Thirteen uniform. If we're all sitting as a sign of unity, and I like that idea, we all need to be dressed the same."

"But Katniss, dear, you're the Mockingjay," Plutarch stutters in protest.

"She was the Mockingjay long before that get-up was ever sketched for the first time," Finnick points out. "Everyone knows what she looks like without the costume."

I find a courage I didn't know I had and speak up in agreement. "Yes. Everyone will recognize her with her hair and makeup done, just like ours is. Besides, if she is the all-important Mockingjay and has to execute someone, I think she should at least get to decide what she wears when she does it."

When no one stands up for Plutarch, he nods once and tells us Fulvia will tell us when to go outside. Then he leaves, promising to send someone with a gray uniform for Katniss.

She puts one hand on Finnick's left shoulder and squeezes my hand. "Thank you for standing up for me on that," she whispers.

"I'm sorry you have to do this," he whispers back.

She sighs in agreement and turns away when her uniform arrives.

* * *

**Noted: **Thanks so incredibly much for still being here and reading! So awesome! Let me know how you liked this chapter? Please?


	8. Chapter 8

Chaos erupts on the platform when an arrow sinks deep into President Snow's chest. It shouldn't be chaos because it was meant to happen. It is chaos because an arrow sinks deeply into President Coin's chest at exactly the same moment. The Presidents weren't standing near each other so it takes a moment for the fact to register as we all look back and forth.

Haymitch leans across Johanna to get my attention. "Supposed to happen, it's alright. Tell Finnick and my kids."

I lean and tell Finnick who passes the message to Peeta and Katniss.

We all stay in our seats until Haymitch moves. He seems to know what's going on so it makes sense to follow his lead. And he doesn't wait long.

All the victors are escorted back into the same room and we immediately turn to Haymitch, all but ignoring Plutarch when he slips in and whispers something to the man we want answers from before leaving again.

"Alright, here's the thing," he begins. "Coin was going to be as bad as Snow. I'm sure you got that from the vote about a final Games. She had to be taken out of the picture. We needed her for the rebellion but she wouldn't have been good for the future. All of this was arranged beforehand. There will be an election and the people of Panem will elect a new leader."

"Not Plutarch?" Beetee asks.

"Not Plutarch."

"What about the person that did it?" It's Johanna that asks.

He shakes his head. "That'll never be known. Nothing will happen to that person. Now, if any of you feel up to staying and discussing how to run the election smoothly please do. The rest of you can go back to the hospital or your rooms or your districts. Let Fulvia know if you're leaving the Capitol and she'll make the arrangements."

That's all the information I need. I grab the handles of Finnick's chair and wheel him out of the room to where Sexta is waiting for us. She doesn't ask any questions as she walks with us to a special medical vehicle that allows the chair to simply be pushed up and in. No one will ever know we're inside.

Katniss and Peeta slip inside just before it pulls away.

We all stay quiet until we get back to the hospital. Or maybe they talk. I don't know. I'm totally focused on Finnick. He looks pale even underneath Octavia's carefully applied makeup and I already regret letting him come. It's too easy to tell that he'd be slumped over if it weren't for the back brace that goes all the way up his neck underneath his clothes. When he doesn't protest Sexta giving him a shot, I know he feels as bad as I imagine he does.

I breathe a sigh of relief when we get back to the hospital.

* * *

I wake up curled onto the very edge of Finnick's bed. This realization makes me groan, loudly. I've been so careful about not sleeping beside him so I don't hurt accidentally hurt him in my sleep. I try to move away only to hear him groan and realize he's asleep on my chest. I guess I'm staying.

"Sexta and Dr. Aurelius have already been in," Hazelle whispers from a chair near the bed. "You're fine where you are."

That makes me feel a little better, as does that fact that she's here. The last thing I remember is Finnick vomiting after we got back from the execution. Maybe that's why I'm laying with him. I start a little and look at her. "How long has it been? Did I miss anything important since we got back?"

"It's just been a night. Panem is just the same as it was yesterday. I think since most everyone joined the fight against Snow they're happy he's gone and since not many people knew Coin it doesn't matter to them much that she's gone."

"Even in Thirteen?"

She shakes her head. "I haven't heard much about Thirteen but I'm sure it's not something you need to worry about right now, honey."

She sounds so much like Mags when she says things like that. "What about the person who shot the arrow that killed Coin?" I ask, because I would've asked Mags the same thing.

Hazelle shakes her head, her lips pressed into a thin line before she answers. "I think they know who it is. I think _I_ know who it is. Haymitch said nothing will happen."

That confirms my suspicions that the second arrow came from Gale. I didn't see him all day but he's really the only one I know who could've made the shot with an arrow. I feel bad for her and reach out to squeeze her hand. "Where are your children?" I ask. "Shouldn't you be with them and not with me?"

She scrunches her nose and shakes her head. "Plutarch sent some books and puzzles to Primrose's room so they're playing in there with her and Katniss. After what happened today, I needed a moment to not look at them and worry about the future. So I came to look at you and Finnick and worry about your future. I'll go back now that I know you're awake and alright." She gets to her feet and leans over to kiss my forehead. "You know how to find me if you need me."

I tell her she doesn't have to leave but Peeta's waiting to come in so she insists on going.

"I can come back," he says when he sees that Finnick is asleep. He's almost out the door when my husband opens his eyes and tells him to stay.

"Peeta, sit," he says when our visitor still tries to live. He sighs drowsily when Peeta sits in the chair Hazelle vacated. He's fidgeting so I help him settle onto his back and then I slide off the bed and sit on the chair on the other side. "How come you get to wander the halls and I don't?"

"I'm not half mutt-eaten," he says lightly, "I'm just crazy."

Before Finnick can respond I say his name and nod at my hands. They're not over my ears even after what Peeta just said.

"Sorry, Annie," Peeta says quickly.

"No," I squeak. "Say it again."

He does, and I don't react. I don't like to think of Finnick as half mutt-eaten but he is. It's the truth. It's real. And it doesn't make me want to hide from the world.

"This is not good," Finnick sighs, looking back and forth between us. "You're walking around joking about being crazy and you're hearing him joke about it and not even flinching. Meanwhile I can barely feed myself."

"Hush," I tell him. "How many times did you feed me after my Games? It's okay if I have to help you because I know it will only be for now. With therapy and swimming and the stubbornness I know you have, you'll be okay soon enough."

He doesn't believe that so much, which means it's all the more important that I keep telling him. It's hard to be so strong and so positive all the time but I will do it for him. I resolve that while I sit there, half-listening to the conversation he and Peeta are having. They're talking about Katniss and what Dr. Aurelius says about how long Peeta will need to stay in the Capitol for de-programming.

I don't like hearing about this so I kiss Finnick and slip out of the room. Peeta will take care of him. I need to find Sexta and Dr. Aurelius and find out how long Finnick and I have to stay in the Capitol. There is nothing that will convince me that the sooner his physical injuries allow us to leave, the better it will be for our mental injuries.

* * *

Dr. Aurelius leans back and crosses his arms over his chest. "What did Sexta say when you asked her about leaving the Capitol?"

I knew he was going to ask me that question first. "She said that once Finnick's open wounds are healed completely, to be sure he can't get an infection, we can make arrangements for therapy somewhere else."

"And how do you feel about that, Annie?"

I don't even have to think about my answer. "The sooner the better. But I asked if you agree. Are we too crazy to live on our own?"

He leans forward and rests his elbows on the desk in his temporary office. "Absolutely not, Annie. You are absolutely not too crazy to live on your own. Surrounded by friends and family and people you love and care about, I have no doubt you'll do just fine."

It's my turn to cross my arms and I slouch low in my chair. "You better start doubting then, because we don't have friends and family. Finnick only had his father when he was reaped and Teague Odair died a year later. My parents died when I was fifteen and I was an only child. Then I lost my mind and my friends. Finnick and I had the other victors from Four and Mags. They're all dead now."

"I'm sorry, Annie, I didn't know about your families," he says sincerely. "Don't be disheartened, though. I still don't doubt you. Do you know why?"

I really wish he'd just tell me why, but I ask.

"I don't doubt you because there are people you love and care about that are still here. Even more importantly for your future, those people love and care about you. Hold on to them and let them help you as you help them."

I scratch at a cuticle on my nail and bounce my foot. "What? Hazelle? She's got four children and she's probably going home to District Twelve. She doesn't need a set of crazy adult pseudo-children in another district."

He smacks his hand against the desk to get my attention. "Stop calling yourself crazy. I'm going to make a condition of my signing off on your leaving the Capitol at all that I need to have three sessions with you without hearing that word." He seems satisfied with my scowl and continues, in a gentler voice. "Now, the second thing in what you said is that you've decided that Hazelle doesn't want to help you. Is that fair to her?"

I shake my head.

"Is it fair to yourself? To Finnick?"

I shake my head.

"Talk to her, maybe you'll come to some realization that will be good for you. She might say she doesn't have the time or the means to be what you need and you'll have to accept that but you need to hear it from her. Don't decide for her." He scrawls something on a paper before looking up to me again. "We're also talking about leaving the Capitol, about going home, about District Four, about District Twelve. Obviously you don't think the Capitol can ever be _home_ so what is your definition of home, Annie?"

I think about this for a long minute because it's a really hard question. I can't really remember the last time I thought of a place with walls and a roof as a home. "Wherever Finnick is," I say finally, "as long as I'm with him. That's home. That's my definition of home."

"Not District Four?"

I chew the inside my cheek and shake my head. "I mean, it could be but I told you we don't have family and friends there anymore and the Victor's Village houses are just places we tried to hide from the world. It's a place we could live. It's a place I love because of the sea and the freedom and because my family and friends were there. But it's not home, not right now."

"Who besides Hazelle do you think might be someone who cares about you?" he asks, irritating me a little by not responding to my answer to his question.

I shake my head and shrug at the same time. "I don't know. Johanna, Haymitch, Peeta, Katniss… other victors."

"Alright, Annie. Before we talk again, I want you to think about all we talked about. Where you go after this and how you go will be a decision you have to make. It's not an easy task but you can do it. I don't doubt that."

I blink at him because I can't believe he's finished. "That's all the answer you're going to give me?"

"For the moment, it is. I'm going to have a very similar conversation with Finnick and then I will work on what I think is the best plan for the two of you. The three of us will meet and I bet we'll all be on the same page."

I doubt that. I have no idea what page I'm on right now.

* * *

**Note: **Any guesses about where Annie and Finnick will go? I do hope you're still loving the story and I suppose you must be if you're reading this. Let me what you like, won't you?


	9. Chapter 9

It turns out that Dr. Aurelius was right. We were all on the same page. That's why Finnick and I are on a train to District Twelve. We're traveling with the Hawthornes and the Everdeens. Haymitch stayed behind with Peeta while he continues his deprogramming and Johanna while she recovers. Or maybe he's helping set up elections. I stopped paying attention when Dr. Aurelius said I could leave the Capitol.

Finnick and I are afraid to go home alone, that's the long and the short of it.

Dr. Aurelius didn't say it flat out, but I think Finnick's afraid of going home to the place where he could do so much now that he can't do half of that yet, maybe never. Staring at the sea he loved would only depress him. Out of sight, out of mind… that's what Hazelle said when I explained things to her.

I knew even before I talked to Dr. Aurelius a second time that all I wanted was Finnick but I needed more. He was very proud of me for having asked Hazelle and Haymitch about us going, at least temporarily, to District Twelve. They both said yes right away and Hazelle even arranged for Katniss' mother to talk to Sexta taking over Finnick's treatment and therapy.

I'm worried that Nurse Everdeen will be spreading herself too thin, caring for Primrose and Katniss and Finnick, but Hazelle has assured me that Julie thrives under situations like this and that it will probably actually be good for her.

Posy's squeak of fright brings me out of my daydream.

"It's just a tunnel, Posy," Gale says as she leaps onto his lap from where she'd been playing with a pair of dolls from Octavia on the floor of the common car we're all gathered in. "We have to go through some tunnels to get home. You like the train better than the hovercraft, don't you?"

She wrinkles her nose and shrugs her shoulders. "Do you like trains better than hovercrafts, Annie?"

The car we're in was obviously used to take tributes to the Games and I don't like that. "I don't like either, really, but this one is taking me where I want to go so it'll do."

Finnick, stretched out on the sofa and leaning against me, plays with my fingers with his left hand. "I like how you think. That's a good way of putting it."

"I should have stayed with Peeta," Katniss sighs from where she's standing by the window. I don't know what she's looking at since we're in a tunnel, but she's been there most of the trip. "He might need me."

"Haymitch or Dr. Aurelius will tell you when he needs you," her mother reminds her, again. "You already promised to come back if needed. Maybe they'll just bring him home."

"That reminds me," Gale says before Katniss can argue with her mother, and maybe he does it on purpose, "Haymitch gave me keys to all the houses in the Victor's Village. We're not supposed to touch his house but we can arrange ourselves how we like in the rest, including letting people coming home stay in them."

Katniss turns away from the window and gives a huff of impatience. "Doesn't Finnick need to stay with us, Mom? So you can take care of him?"

Julie looks at me hesitantly. "I know you came more to stay with Hazelle but, at least for the time being, that would be best if you don't mind."

"No, it's fine," I say easily, surprising myself a little. "It makes sense and as many people as possible should be able to stay in the houses until the district gets rebuilt. A little crowding never hurt anyone."

Vick snorts loudly, earning himself a light smack on the back of his head from Gale. "What? You were the only one who got to sleep in your own bed at our house in the Seam. Crowding doesn't hurt but it's annoying." He rubs the spot and pouts for a minute. "Are we going to live in the Victor's Village?"

"_We_ are, you're camping in the woods," Gale deadpans.

The look on Vick's face is priceless, especially when he realizes his older brother was only kidding. We all laugh at that and it feels so good, so very good.

I notice the third Hawthorne brother has been all but glued to Primrose's side since we got on the train. He gets her water, he helps her with food, he helps her to the bathroom. I wonder if maybe that's part of the reason Katniss is so edgy.

"Good thing they don't have to be cousins anymore," Finnick murmurs when he follows my gaze. We only just found out that the Everdeens and the Hawthornes really aren't related at all and I agree completely that the young love between them is very much obvious.

"Let's play charades," Primrose suggests. "Do you know that game from District Four?"

"We do," Finnick says. "Let's play."

I didn't expect to be playing games, fun games, but I like it very much. We divide into teams the score is firmly tied when Primrose and Finnick fall asleep trying to guess that Posy is trying to be a gust of wind. Posy keeps dancing and the rest of us keep laughing.

Maybe this will work after all.

* * *

**A note:** This is super short, I know, and I'm sorry but, as they say... that's the way the cookie crumbles. The story is wrapping up and this was the best place to break it. I do hope you liked it though!


	10. Chapter 10

When Finnick cries out in his sleep on our third night in Katniss' house, and his cries quickly turn to screams, I scramble off the bed and into the closest closet. I clamp my hands over my ears and squeeze my eyes shut.

I don't know how much time passes before there's a knock on the door I pulled shut when I went inside.

"Annie? Can I come in?"

It's Hazelle, so I reach out with my bare foot and hook the door open.

She crawls in and sits beside me, pulling a sweater more tightly around her shoulders. "Aren't you freezing in here with bare feet and no sleeves?"

In truth, I've been freezing since we got here. Snow is new to me and I'm not sure I like it much more than I liked the man with the same name. "I'm fine," I tell her, careful not to look at her although my eyes are open and my hands are loose over my ears.

She pulls a soft sweater off a hanger, probably left over from Katniss' Victory Tour and lays it on my shoulders. She just sits beside me then and doesn't say a word.

I lower one hand and look at her in the murky darkness. "Is he okay?"

She nods but doesn't meet my gaze. "It was just a nightmare. Julie gave him a small dose of sleep syrup in some tea to help him get back to sleep and rest easy."

"I ran away."

She glances at me then. "So?"

"So I ran away."

"You only made it to the closet in the bedroom you were already in," she says gently. "It's not like we're out searching the snowy woods for you."

I tuck my cold feet under my legs and exhale a breath I'd been holding for a very long time. "Did I hurt him? Did I do something that made him start screaming?" I don't tell her that I have hurt him in my sleep before, even though it seems like so long ago. I'll tell her that later on. Maybe.

"No." She sounds too confident to be lying. "No, you didn't hurt him. Julie told me what happened. She said Prim had a nightmare and cried out. Katniss heard her and she was probably already having a nightmare of her own, so she screamed for the fire mutts to stop hurting her sister. Finnick must have heard that and cried out on his own. It's a domino effect, Annie, and Julie said you were the quietest and most easy to deal with because you took yourself away and took care of yourself."

"But I could've helped her with everyone else."

"Soon enough you'll be able to help."

I like that she doesn't say I should've helped or that I'm okay to run away and hide. I vow to remember what she said and I take a deep breath. "Weren't you at your own house?"

"I was but Julie called and asked me to come over. I brought Rory and left Vick and Posy with Gale."

I smile a little because I know that Rory probably didn't give his mother an option and I'd bet anything that he's with Primrose. "She gave Finnick sleep syrup?" I ask.

"Well, I did," she says, tucking her hands up into the sleeves of her sweater. "Julie made the tea and then the three of us gave tea to one person; her to Katniss, me to Finnick, and Rory to Prim."

I smile a little bit more because I was right about Prim and Rory.

"You should try and get some more sleep, you know." She puts a finger over my lips before I can protest. "Gale can watch the little ones so I'll stay here, if you want, but you should sleep next to your husband."

I'll allow myself one more night of this, one more night of her sleeping in a chair.

I crawl out of the closet and turn back to offer her my hand. I wait until she's settled in the overstuffed armchair before I slide back into the bed beside my husband.

* * *

Finnick wakes me up by trailing his fingers over my bare shoulder and I realize I'm asleep on his chest this time. I look up, worried I hurt him, and sigh happily when I see clear, pain free sea green eyes looking back at me.

"You're beautiful," he whispers so quietly I can hardly hear him. "I love you."

I move up, careful of his right side, and kiss him. I only pull away when I feel a pull inside of me that could be dangerous. "I love you too."

He laughs softly when I jerk to look around for Hazelle when I realize what I said. "She's not here. She left about half an hour ago. We have half an hour before we're expected downstairs for breakfast."

There are so many things I want to do in that half hour, but mostly I just want to lay in the warmth of his arms. I put my head back on his chest and let myself do just that for fifteen minutes. I shush him when I pull myself up. "I'm going to get you ready for breakfast," I tell him. "Don't argue."

"Annie…"

"I said don't argue," I remind him, knowing he's worried about his wounds. "I'm not saying I'm going to change your bandages. I wouldn't touch them without Katniss' mother in the room. I'm just going to help you in the bathroom and get your dressed. You can come back and rest later but we're not spending all day hiding in this room."

He sits up when I pull on his left shoulder. "What happened to you last night?"

I shrug and ease his right arm out of the sleeve. "I hid in the closet. It won't be my last time hiding in the closet but I remembered how many times you got me dressed and forced me to eat. You'll be more willing, I think, but I'm still going to take care of you."

He gives me a long, searching look and nods once. "Alright. I love you, Annie."

I kiss him again and help him get to his feet. I help him wash up and I shave the stubble that's come in on his face. I pull a long sleeve shirt with buttons down the front over his bandages and do up the buttons. I bind his right arm in the sling it still needs when he's not getting therapy, the sling he might always need. I kiss him again help him change from pajama pants into proper pants.

"Did I hurt you?" I ask as I dress myself. I can't face him when I ask it so I ask through the shirt pulled half over my head.

He uses his left hand and pulls the shirt down. "No," he says, kissing me. "You didn't hurt me. I promise to try to tell you if you ever do."

It's the best I'll get so I kiss him and accept it. I brush my hair and put on a second pair of socks before taking his hand and helping him slowly down the stairs.

Everyone else is already there, including all the Hawthornes.

Posy dances over and hugs me while Katniss complains that her sleep syrup made her groggy and that it's not fair that Finnick seems more awake and alert than she is.

"It's because he went right to sleep and didn't fight it," her mother says as she hangs up the telephone. "If you'd be a better patient, you'd be better off."

Katniss scowls and crosses her arms of her chest, then glares at Prim when she fails to cover a giggle with a cough. "Who was on the phone?"

"Haymitch. Since you're all here, I'll just say it once. He says that Dr. Aurelius has changed his mind and thinks Peeta will do better here so Peeta and Haymitch are coming home. Dr. Aurelius is coming with them for a few weeks and Johanna is thinking that she might come for a bit. They'll be here in two days." She looks at Katniss and seems relieved when her daughter hides a smile behind her hand. "Let's have breakfast."

"Maybe I'll clean up Haymitch's house," Hazelle says as we move to the table. "The four of them could stay there together for the time being. I suppose I should ask first."

Finnick shakes his head as he sits down. "He gave Gale the keys, that means Gale decides."

Julie touches my shoulder before I sit down and whispers in my ear while they talk. "Sit on his left side. I know you've been feeding him and that's fine, but he should start practicing on his own with his left arm. Just be there in case he needs help."

It makes sense to me, so I do it.

Posy has taken a seat at the head of the table, at the end opposite Gale and she grins widely at me when I sit between her and Finnick. "I overflowed the bathtub this morning," she announces proudly. "I was taking a bath by myself. I cleaned most of it myself, didn't I, Gale?"

"Yeah, most of it," he says, rolling his eyes. "You took her swimming and now all she wants to do is play in water."

"Maybe they'll build a pool here," Prim suggests. "Not that I could go in, but the victors should ask for one. I bet they'd get it."

Rory, sitting protectively beside her, looks at her in dismay. "Why couldn't you swim?"

She makes a face and gestures at the new skin still healing on her arms.

He shakes his head firmly. "You'll always be beautiful, Primrose, not matter what."

It's a sweet moment that Vick lightens it by making a fantastic gagging noise in the back of his throat. "Can we eat before they make out and I lose my appetite?"

* * *

Katniss comes downstairs later with a pile of clothes in her arms. She dumps them on the sofa beside me and brushes off her hands. "I don't know why your doctor, or Haymitch, didn't send you back with warmer clothes but it's still going to be cold here for awhile so take what you want."

I look through the pile and guess that it's almost all from her Victory Tour. "You don't want any of it?"

"Not really. I have clothes I like just fine." She's wearing her leather hunting jacket, that someone told me belonged to her father, and cracked leather boots. She's definitely got her favorites.

I have some things but I select a wool coat, two sweaters, a hat, a scarf, and a pair of gloves. Then when she gives an impatient sigh, I take a pair of pants and a leather coat. Instead of sighing again, she hurries away and returns with a pair of boots not too unlike the ones she's wearing. "Take these too. I'll never wear them."

It seems nearly as important for her to give the things away as it is for me to take them so I do. It will all be useful, no doubt, and the things shouldn't go to waste.

"Thank you, Katniss."

She nods. "I'll go to Peeta's and get some of his Victory Tour clothes for Finnick. Hazelle is as good at alterations as my prep team so since Peeta's suit fit Finnick for your wedding, it should be fine."

"I can come with you." I get to my feet and pull the wool coat on. "You don't think Peeta will mind you taking his clothes?"

She shakes her head. If she knows I'm coming along in part because I wouldn't want to go alone so she shouldn't have to, she doesn't say anything. "Of course not. If you're worried, we'll just have Hazelle alter a thing or two and then ask Peeta about the rest when he gets here." She leads the way out onto the snow covered porch. "I know what I'll do, I'll call Octavia tonight and ask her to put together a care package of clothes and supplies and send it back with Haymitch and Peeta."

I'm a little relieved she's asking Octavia and not Haymitch, but I get distracted by the utter silence of the world covered in white.

She stands a few feet away and watches me.

I can't hear a thing, not footsteps or the wind. All I can see is the way the fat, fluffy snowflakes are wafting lazily down onto the ground. It's surreal.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Katniss smile and go back up to her front door.

Gale brings Finnick outside a minute later and helps him to stand beside me, then he and Katniss disappear into Peeta's house by themselves.

It feels like we're alone in the world as we stand there in the snow holding each other tightly. And I don't mind that feeling. I don't feel the cold of the air around me. I'm too fascinated by the way the snowflakes are falling on the shoulders of the coat Finnick's wearing, one I know to be Gale's. They're so beautiful.

Even more than all that, in this new place where I never expected to be and with the man I want to spend eternity with, I'm too happy to notice anything other than how happy it all makes me.

* * *

**Note: **So this is all I have written right now. I'm not going to mark the story as complete because I don't want the story to be over (although it could be). But if you're reading and want to know if I add more, be sure you put it on alerts!

In any case, I hope you like what's been written very, very much!


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